A number one Australian vape advocate has known as for an pressing overhaul to the federal government’s strategy to regulating vaping throughout the nation, claiming the present strategy is resulting in China staging a “reverse opium war”.
Health authorities have routinely known as for higher regulation of the rising disaster, with NSW Health earlier this week linking a deadly overdose to black market vape juice refills.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler has proposed a few of the harshest legal guidelines on the earth to crack down on unregulated vaping merchandise – handing sweeping powers to states to ban the import of e-cigarette or vape merchandise from subsequent yr.
But Legalise Vaping Australia director Brian Marlow claims Mr Butler’s actions have “single-handedly” created “the largest black market in the history of Australia”.
He claimed greater than 100 million unlawful unregulated vape merchandise with no ingredient requirements had been smuggled into the nation from China and offered on the black market.
“For the Albanese government to think they can fix this crisis with a recreational vaping ban on adults and doubling down on the failed prescription-only prohibition model is completely out of touch with reality and community expectations,” Mr Marlow mentioned.
“China is preying on Mark Butler’s weakness by using tactics that can only be described as a reverse opium war.”
Earlier this week, NSW Health issued an pressing warning after confirming the presence of potent opioids generally known as nitazenes in a vape juice refill.
The opioids have since been linked to a few overdoses in NSW alone – one in every of which was deadly.
In one overdose case, the individual used a vape refill liquid thought to comprise an artificial cannabinoid just like tetrahydrocannabinol.
Because it contained nitazenes, overdose occurred “within a matter of minutes”.
“Nitazenes can be stronger and last longer than fentanyl,” NSW Health mentioned in an announcement.
“They are far stronger than most other opioids and an overdose can be caused by taking even a small amount.”
Nitazenes, which embody the frequent novel artificial opioid generally known as protonitazene, have been developed within the Nineteen Fifties by a Swiss chemical firm as an alternative choice to morphine.
But scientific improvement was deserted resulting from their excessive potential for overdose, in response to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“No drugs in this class are approved for medicinal use,” a 2022 WHO report on protonitazene states.
“Protonitazene has no approved therapeutic applications and has never been granted marketing authorisation as a medicinal product for human or veterinary use.”
The report states protonitazene is below probably the most restrictive scheduling within the US however “does not appear to be subject” to restrictive measures within the European Union.
It is illegitimate to purchase, possess or use liquid nicotine for vaping and not using a prescription below Australian legislation.
In May, Mr Butler outlined $737m from the finances for measures to curb “the harm caused by tobacco and vaping products”.
This consists of permitting state police and well being authorities to ban the import of all e-cigarettes, besides pharmaceutical merchandise used to give up smoking.
The legal guidelines will even curb laws on the packaging and flavouring of vape merchandise offered in shops.
Mr Butler mentioned single-use, disposable vapes would even be banned and the allowed nicotine concentrations and volumes can be diminished.
“Young people who vape are three times as likely to take up smoking, so is it any wonder that under 25s are the only cohort in the community currently recording an increase in smoking rates?” he mentioned.
“Vaping is creating a whole new generation of nicotine dependency in our community.
“Vaping was sold to governments and communities around the world as a therapeutic product to help long-term smokers quit. It was not sold as a recreational product – especially not one targeted to our kids, but that is what it has become.
“Australia needs to reclaim its position as a world leader on tobacco control.”
The NSW authorities has already pledged $4.3m to crack down on the sale of unlawful vapes.
Over the following three years, that funding can be used to bolster “compliance and enforcement” of the state’s “retail, wholesale, manufacturing, and pharmaceutical controls on vaping products”.
During a focused marketing campaign earlier this yr, well being inspectors seized 23,247 unlawful vaping gadgets with a road worth of greater than $695,000.
From January 1 to June 30, 2023, a record-breaking 187,000 unlawful vape merchandise have been seized – up from 61,000 from final yr.
Mr Marlow mentioned the federal authorities wanted to rethink its strategy and regulate vapes as an adult-only product, just like how alcohol and tobacco merchandise are dealt with.
“(They should be) sold by licensed retailers to adults with clear Australian standards on ingredients, packaging and manufacturing,” he mentioned.
“If there is no legal pathway for adults to buy vapes from licensed retailers, the demand from over 1.6 million Australian adult vapers will continue to sustain this dangerous unregulated market.
“(It will) make our community less safe and put Australians in danger.”
Mr Marlow claimed there have been comparable outcomes in Australia to how the US failed with their prohibition on alcohol – an “out-of-control black market run by criminals selling dangerous unregulated products to whoever will buy them”.
“China regulates their own domestic vaping industry in the same way as they do for alcohol and tobacco; however, the country lets its manufacturers put whatever they want into the unregulated vapes that are destined to be sold illegally in Australia,” Mr Marlow mentioned.
“It is not a coincidence Australia has this out-of-control black market and is the only country in the world to restrict access to nicotine vapes on a prescription-only basis.”
Research carried out earlier this yr by the University of Wollongong, funded and commissioned by NSW Health, discovered terribly excessive nicotine counts in seized vapes throughout the state.
The examine analysed 428 vapes seized from retailers and one other 322 vapes surrendered by youngsters at Sydney colleges.
High nicotine concentrations have been detected in 737 of the 750 vaping gadgets.
This was regardless of the merchandise claiming nicotine was not an energetic ingredient.
Source: www.news.com.au
